Galaxy
A Galaxy is a system of stellar matter including stars, planets, meteors, nebulae and other interstellar debris that is contained within a self-sustaining gravitational field. In short, it's where we keep all of our cool stuff and it doesn't go floating off into nowhere. Galaxies come in all shapes and sizes; the most common of which are elliptical galaxies, spiral galaxies and of course, your oddly-shaped blob-like irregular galaxies. Galaxies contain varying numbers of star systems, star clusters and types of interstellar clouds. In between these objects is a sparse interstellar medium of gas, dust, and cosmic rays. Observational data suggests that supermassive black holes may exist at the center of many, if not all, galaxies. They are thought to be the primary driver of active galactic nuclei found at the core of some galaxies. Known Galaxies Milky Way Galaxy The most important galaxy of note is naturally the Milky Way Galaxy, which some believe is named after a popular candy bar. The Milky Way is by far the coolest of all known galaxies, chiefly because it's where we all live. Plus the food is pretty good there. In terms of speculative fiction, all media that takes place on Earth is naturally taking place in the Milky Way Galaxy as well. Many science fiction vehicles also take place in the Milky Way, and often include fictional worlds and star systems. Andromeda Galaxy The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 2,500,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Andromeda. It is the nearest spiral galaxy to our own, the Milky Way. As it is visible as a faint smudge on a moonless night, it is one of the farthest objects visible to the naked eye. Like the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy has satellite galaxies, consisting of 14 known dwarf galaxies. The best known and most readily observed satellite galaxies are M32 and M110. The Andromeda Galaxy played a provincial role in the 1961 A for Andromeda television series. Scientists Doctor John Fleming and Ernest Reinhart discovered a radio signal being transferred from the Andromeda Nebula to Earth, carrying with it, instructions on how to construct a supercomputer. A for Andromeda: The Message Star Wars Galaxy The Star Wars Galaxy refers to the setting featured in the Star Wars mythos. With few exceptions, nearly all characters, locations, organizations and items featured in the various Star Wars-related media takes place within the Star Wars galaxy. it is often referred to as a "Galaxy far, far away" or GFFA for short. Although the setting was first introduced in the original 1977 film Star Wars, the first coherent visualization of the galaxy from the outside perspective was seen at the end of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. In matters concerning canonicity, meaning: material that is considered part of the official Star Wars history as authorized by franchise creator George Lucas, it could be argued that only the Star Wars: Clone Wars minisodes, the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series and the two Ewoks television movies from the 1980s are part of the canonical Star Wars Galaxy. Other television projects such as the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special as well as the Star Wars: Droids and Star Wars: Ewoks cartoons are not generally regarded as being part of the greater Star Wars mythos and as such, their placement within the setting of the Star Wars Galaxy is subject to interpretation. See also * List of galaxies References